Stolen Treasures

by Summer Waters

  “Way to go!” he cried, rushing across the playground to high-five Antonia. “Want to be on our team?”

  “No, thanks,” said Antonia, grinning in spite of herself.

  At lunchtime, Antonia was sitting on the field eating her packed lunch with Cai and Toby, when Emily broke away from a group of Year Sixes and came and sat next to them.

  “Sorry about last night,” she said, staring straight at Antonia as she pulled a cheese-and-pickle sandwich out of her lunchbox. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you. Dad says I’m as subtle as an elephant in a tutu.”

  Antonia tried to swallow a mouthful of cake but it stuck in her throat and she ended up choking.

  “Steady,” said Cai, banging her on the back as she coughed and spluttered. “Here, drink this.”

  He handed her his water bottle and Antonia drank from it gratefully.

  “Better?”

  “I’m sorry!” Emily face was bright red. “Now I’ve embarrassed you again. Look, if you change your mind about the stardish, then it’s yours.”

  Antonia’s eyes were smarting with tears from her choking fit. She pulled a tissue from the pocket of her dress and wiped them before blowing her nose. Her heart was thumping and her hands trembled slightly. Fragments of the speech she’d rehearsed for Emily reached her lips, only to fizzle out. She closed her eyes for a second, determined to tell Emily what she thought of her parents’ shop but as she was about to begin, she remembered her promise to Claudia. Would it really be breaking that promise to say something to Emily? Maybe if she said something about conservation in general, Emily would take the hint?

  “Do you like Sea Watch? Are you going to keep going?” asked Antonia.

  “I love it—everyone’s so friendly,” said Emily. “I can’t wait for the summer holidays when I can spend all day there.”

  “Have you done any conservation work before?”

  “Nah.” Emily bit into her sandwich. “I’ve not really been into stuff like that. I keep telling you, I joined to make friends.”

  “The work we do at Sea Watch is very important. If we don’t look after the sea life then there’ll be nothing left for the future,” said Antonia.

  “Yeah, Claudia already told me that but let’s face it, there’s not much we can do about it, is there? We’re just kids.”

  “There’s loads you can do,” said Antonia earnestly, “You could—”

  “Is that the time?” Emily wolfed down the rest of her sandwich as she checked her watch. “Sorry, but I’ve got to go. Rehearsals start in five minutes and I need the loo. Are you going to Sea Watch after school?”

  Cai nodded.

  “Great,” she added. “Eleanor and Karen are coming too. We’ll walk with you. Wait for us by the gates.” Emily scrambled to her feet, accidentally treading on Cai’s lunchbox. “Whoops, sorry. Don’t think I broke it. See you guys later, then.”

  “Well done,” said Toby a huge grin stretching across his face. “Antonia scares another person off with a lecture on conservation.”

  “I don’t lecture!” Antonia protested.

  “He’s only joking,” said Cai laughing. “Toby’s as keen on conservation as we are, he’s just too busy playing football to help at Sea Watch. I mean, where would the world be without football?”

  “That’s right,” chuckled Toby good-naturedly. “I’m preserving the game, so there’s something left for the future.”

  “Very funny,” said Antonia, forcing a laugh. But on the inside she was frustrated at her failure to talk to Emily. Then suddenly she remembered and said, “I thought we were going to the harbour after school tonight?”

  “Oh, I forgot to say. Aunty Claudia doesn’t think it’s a good idea. She said it would be better to wait until we see the boat again.”

  Toby put his rubbish back in his lunchbox. “I’ll leave you guys to it,” he said. “I’m going to play football.”

  “Wait for me,” said Cai. “Do you want to play, Antonia?”

  “No thanks,” said Antonia, sore with disappointment. She didn’t want to wait until the fishing boat did more damage. She wanted to try and find it now, and she’d been looking forward to playing detective at the harbour all day. The boys sprinted off, leaving Antonia alone.

  Moments later a shadow fell over her and she looked up to see Lauren and Becky’s sneering faces.

  “Well, look who it is. Billy-no-mates,” said Lauren.

  Becky chuckled.

  “Shall we ask her to play with us?”

  “No!” said both girls together and, giggling, they walked away.

  Suddenly Antonia longed for Sophie. They’d been friends for ever. A proper chat with Sophie was just what Antonia needed to cheer her up.

  Miss Brown was not in a good mood after lunch and gave 5B a written task that had to be done in silence. Antonia finished hers with time to spare and was told to read.

  She didn’t feel like reading. Her mind kept wandering to her disappointment about not going to the harbour after school. It was all Emily’s fault. If only she’d been more careful locking Stripes’s cage, then Antonia and Cai could have explored the harbour yesterday. Emily had made it awkward for Antonia at swimming club and now she was muscling in on her friendship with Cai.

  Antonia was finding it hard to trust Claudia’s words, when she was sure that the girl was as bad as her parents. Antonia sighed. She’d had more than enough of Emily today. When the home-time bell finally rang, she couldn’t face seeing her again, so she waylaid Cai as he left the classroom.

  “I’m not coming to Sea Watch tonight.”

  Cai stopped in surprise. “Everything all right?” he asked.

  “Yes, I’ve just got a bit of a headache.”

  Antonia couldn’t look at Cai, in case he guessed she wasn’t telling the truth.

  “Bad luck. I expect it was all that writing. Are you sure you don’t want to come to Sea Watch? You can sit up at the house until your head clears.”

  “Thanks, but no,” said Antonia.

  “Looks like it’s me and Emily then.” Cai pulled a face. “She’s all right, but I wish she didn’t talk so much. I hope you feel better soon.”

  “Thanks,” said Antonia.

  Chapter Eight

  Antonia walked home slowly, trying not to think about all the exciting things she would be missing at Sea Watch. It was very hot and Sandy Bay Road seemed steeper than usual. Antonia stopped when she reached the top and sat on the wooden bench overlooking the bay to get her breath back. The sea was packed with swimmers. Antonia imagined floating in the cool salty water and suddenly she had a strong urge to be in the sea. She wasn’t allowed to swim without an adult, but Claudia often let her and Cai paddle from her private beach.

  “I should have gone to Sea Watch,” Antonia told an inquisitive wren watching from a nearby bush.

  She closed her eyes, savouring the warm sun on her face. Immediately her thoughts turned to Emily. Why had she let the new girl put her off from going? There was room for everyone at Sea Watch, regardless of whether you liked them or not. And why didn’t she like Emily? Was it just because of her parents’ shop? Antonia knew she wasn’t being fair. It was wrong to blame Emily for her parents’ behaviour. But that wasn’t the only problem. Deep down, Antonia was a little scared that Emily might steal Cai away. The moment she admitted it, Antonia knew it was a ridiculous fear. She and Cai had an extra-special friendship cemented by their amazing secret, the Silver Dolphins. Cross with herself, Antonia jumped up, startling the wren into flying away chattering loudly.

  “I’ve been such an idiot!” she exclaimed.

  She decided to turn back and go to Sea Watch, but then a strong sense that Spirit needed urgent help came over her. The feeling was too intense to ignore. School bag bumping against her back, Antonia sprinted for Gull Bay, knowing her favourite beach would be quieter than Sandy Bay. She was halfway down the lane when her dolphin charm began to vibrate. Its silver tail thrashed against her neck, urging her into the sea. An
tonia touched the charm with her left hand, pleased that once again she’d sensed Spirit’s call before it had happened.

  “Spirit, I hear you,” she whistled as the silver dolphin charm broke into a piercing whistle.

  On the sand, Antonia stopped to pull off her socks and sandals. There were a handful of people in the cove, dedicated sun worshippers plugged into their iPods or reading books while their bodies tanned. Unnoticed, Antonia left her sandals and bag high up the beach then ran down to the water.

  Silver Dolphin, called her necklace, its soft body thrashing against her neck.

  “I’m coming,” Antonia clicked back.

  She splashed into the water, shivering at the icy coldness of it on her hot feet. As soon as the sea reached her waist, Antonia lunged forward, her legs melding together like a tail as she swam. Becoming a Silver Dolphin was something she could never tire of. Antonia arched her body, leaping in and out of the water as she raced to answer Spirit’s call. She swam for ages until Gull Bay was a tiny dot in the distance, but still the only sign of Spirit was his frantic whistling. Antonia concentrated on swimming like a dolphin and to her delight, she swam faster than ever before. Then suddenly she felt vibrations in the water, tapping like raindrops against her skin. Altering her course slightly, Antonia swam in the direction of the vibrations. They were rapidly growing much stronger and made her uneasy. Something must be very wrong to disturb the sea in such a violent manner.

  “Spirit, where are you?” she whistled.

  “Not far,” Spirit clicked. “I can feel you approaching.”

  A short while later, Antonia sensed the source of the vibrations was deeper underwater and dived down. She passed a dolphin, then another, then a large group who parted for her.

  “Silver Dolphin,” they clicked, nodding in relief as she swam between them. Up ahead the water was swirling manically. Antonia swam on, passing Bubbles, Dream and their mother, Star, then a small group of dolphins who were keeping another dolphin back, gently butting her with their noses each time she tried to swim past.

  “My baby!” cried the dolphin with such anguish, Antonia went ice-cold and her swimming faltered.

  “Hurry, Silver Dolphin,” called Spirit and Antonia forced herself to swim on.

  At last, she saw Spirit’s magnificent silver body twisting in the water as he and another large dolphin struggled with something. With a final burst of energy, Antonia sped up and reached the large dolphins. She saw they were wrestling with a net.

  “Topper’s stuck,” said Spirit, tugging on a frayed piece of rope.

  For a second, Antonia’s brain froze and it felt as if she was watching the scene from far away. Topper, a baby dolphin, flailed around, screaming in panic as the net bit into his soft skin. His mother screamed back, her high-pitched whistle so piercing, Antonia found it impossible to think. Then suddenly another voice sounded in her head.

  Claudia.

  Her voice, low and soothing, helped Antonia to blot out the panicked sounds around her.

  Stay calm, Silver Dolphin. You can do this.

  At once, Antonia’s brain began working again. How long had Topper been trapped?

  Dolphins could stay underwater for an hour but they usually surfaced every ten minutes for air. The biggest danger to Topper right now was that he might suffocate and drown. Immediately Antonia knew what she must do. She swam to Spirit and tapped him lightly on the side to get his attention.

  Chapter Nine

  Spirit didn’t look round. “Help us, Silver Dolphin,” he said, still tugging on the net.

  Antonia pointed upwards. “Let’s take him to the surface where he can breathe,” she said. “Then we can concentrate on freeing him.”

  “Good idea.” Spirit butted the other dolphin, still frantically pulling at the net.

  “Cracker, help us get your son to the surface.”

  The other dolphin was so intent on freeing his baby, he didn’t respond until Antonia caught hold of his fin.

  “Topper needs air,” she said firmly. “Help us.”

  It was hard and dangerous work trying to get Topper to the surface. The baby dolphin was thrashing so violently, Antonia was scared that Spirit, Cracker, or even she might get caught up in the net. She was also worried about the harm the dolphin would inflict on himself. She’d seen small beads of blood in the water coming from a cut on Topper’s tail.

  “Topper,” she clicked. “Listen to me. You’re safe now. We’re going to help you, but you must stop wriggling. Lie still.”

  Topper was too scared to listen to Antonia’s soothing clicks and continued to throw himself about. The net and the dolphin were heavy and Antonia wished she was stronger, when suddenly she realised more help had arrived.

  “Cai!” she gasped. “Thank goodness.”

  Cai caught hold of a piece of the net, adding his force with everyone else as they pulled upwards. Gradually, Topper began to calm down. Glancing across, Antonia realised it wasn’t a good sign. The baby dolphin’s eyes were glazed and his nose had turned a strange colour.

  “Hurry,” clicked Antonia, pulling the net with a strength she never realised she had.

  At last they surfaced. Topper lay very still.

  “Hold the net tight, don’t let it sink,” said Antonia as she edged her way closer to him.

  Moving across the wet rope was harder than it looked. It was slippery and Antonia’s feet caught in the squares. Cai, Spirit and Cracker stretched the net as taut as they could, while Antonia clambered towards Topper. She moved quickly but carefully, knowing that Topper’s life depended on her, and finally, she reached the dolphin. He was still breathing, but only just. Antonia clasped his tiny head in her hands and very gently breathed into his partly opened mouth. Topper didn’t stir. Antonia continued to help the dolphin to breathe until Topper made a funny choking sound, then gulped at the air.

  “Steady,” soothed Antonia, stroking the side of his face. Topper’s eyes rolled and Antonia felt his body stiffen as he focused on her.

  “You’re safe now,” she whispered. “The Silver Dolphins are here to help you.”

  Antonia began to work the net away from Topper’s body. It was a slow process. The wet rope bit into her fingers and she had to be careful not to damage Topper’s soft skin as she worked to free him.

  “I need something sharp,” she said, vowing to carry a small pair of scissors around with her, in future.

  “A rock would do,” called Cai. “If Spirit and Cracker can manage here, I’ll go look for one.”

  “Arrow can take your place,” clicked Spirit.

  Antonia looked up and saw that they were surrounded by anxious-looking dolphins. Spirit’s pod must have followed them to the surface. Arrow, a muscular animal with a bold yellow stripe, swam forward and took Cai’s place. Antonia continued to work on the ropes, even as the saltwater made her sore fingers sting. She’d half-freed Topper when she noticed a red stain leaching towards her. Casually, Antonia moved along to examine Topper’s tail. It was worse than she’d thought. A nasty cut stretched the length of Topper’s tail fin so that it dangled like a broken limb. He also had rope burn and ugly wealds stretching across his silver skin.

  Antonia looked to the bleeding first, laying her hands on Topper’s tail, willing the cut to heal. Mend, she thought and in her mind, imagined the damaged skin coming together to stop the bleeding. The picture in her head became more and more vivid and a warm feeling spread down Antonia’s hands. Her fingers began to prickle. The sensation wasn’t as painful as it had been the first time she’d done this—the first time she used her Silver Dolphin powers to heal. She must be getting better at it!

  Antonia continued to press firmly down on Topper’s tail until the prickling sensation in her fingers calmed and the warm glow spread again through her hands. She held them against Topper for a minute longer, then slowly pulled them away. The tail had healed cleanly, leaving only a faint puckered line of skin. Antonia healed the rope burns next. When she’d finished, she was
exhausted and her hands were as limp as seaweed. Topper stared at Antonia in awe, then weakly flapped his tail.

  Cai had returned and was watching Antonia while clutching two small rocks.

  “Wow!” he clicked. “That was fantastic. How long did it take you to learn to do that? Will you teach me?” He faltered, as Antonia shook her long blond hair over her face.

  “Oh, you can’t, can you?” Cai said wistfully. “It’s one of your extra powers, isn’t it?”

  Antonia nodded, wishing that Cai didn’t look so disappointed. Claudia and Spirit had warned her that being a very powerful Silver Dolphin was a big responsibility. She thought she had understood, but now she was beginning to realise how it would affect her in others ways, too.

  “Clever you, finding two rocks,” she said, quickly changing the subject.

  Cai handed the rocks to Antonia but she refused to take them.

  “You free Topper,” she said. “You found the rocks, so it’s only fair.”

  Cai smiled gratefully and set to work sawing at the rope with the rocks. Gradually the netting fell away and Antonia rolled it up to prevent any further accidents. Cracker hovered close by and when Topper was free, he swam to his son and nuzzled him on the head. Then Topper’s mum, a pretty young dolphin called Grace, was allowed near the disintegrating net. There was a joyful reunion of nose rubbing and stroking with flippers. Grace kept thanking the Silver Dolphins, until Spirit kindly shooed her away with her son.

  “Topper needs to rest,” he said. “And the Silver Dolphins must get this rope ashore before it injures more creatures.”

  “Can we help, Dad?” asked Bubbles, who was hovering nearby with Dream and Star.

  “I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” said Star, but Spirit waved her concerns away. “It’ll be perfectly safe if the net is kept in a bundle. The Silver Dolphins have a long swim back to shore. They could do with some help.”

  Cai trod water in a slow circle. “Where is the shore?” he asked. “I don’t remember how I got here. The sea all looks the same—blue!”

  “That’s something I can teach you,” said Dream, swimming forward. “Make a clicking sound like this.” She demonstrated. “Then listen for an echo. When the clicking sound hits land, it bounces back. With practice, you can work out how far away the shore is, as well its direction.”